Sayulita: surfing, shopping and where we stayed

This was our first stay in Mexico together - Rufus had never been except for our bus transit through from Belize to Cuba (Dec 2014) and back but I visited areas on the Caribbean side, on a weekly basis, while I was working on cruise ships after my studies. The "surfing" village of Sayulita is on the Pacific coast in the province of Nayarit, an hr or so drive north from Puerto Vallarta. We flew in to PV from Ft Lauderdale and then took the bus from there.
Luckily for us it was off-season so it was quiet and relatively peaceful except for a few nights when the "gringos" got rowdy in a couple of the nearby bars. We spent the first 3 days exploring the town and nearby beach on foot and then we rented a car and visited a few beaches further on where Rufus could surf while I made friends with the other surfer widows, read and took photos.
There is a vibrant design and craft scene - thankfully not in the typical cheesy (and boring) touristy way though - which we thoroughly enjoyed. We got to observe some of the artisans at work, speak to a couple of the expat designers and get some insight into their collaborations with the locals and how they have integrated centuries old traditional Mexican craft with their modern design aesthetic . My two favourites were Evoke and Artefakto but there are so many more to choose from with an almost overwhelmingly huge variety of beautiful items to choose from, no matter what your budget.
Everything was within walking distance of our little "boutique hotel", a myriad of different options for delicious food and cocktails, some live music and evening strolls through the cobblestone streets. We stayed in, what the owners describe as an "artistic apartment" in the heart of the village, 2 min walking distance from the square. The owners, Lucy and José, also own La Esperanza which is a "health food Café, Restaurant & Bar that creates and serves conscious and nutritious food for the health of their community". It's located directly across the street from their accommodations but unfortunately we were never able to sample their food as it was closed for the slow season. The accommodation itself was lovely and I was super snap happy with my new Fuji, as you will see below. We booked through AirBnB and you can see my review here.

[lgc_column grid="50" tablet_grid="50" mobile_grid="100" last="false"][/lgc_column][lgc_column grid="50" tablet_grid="50" mobile_grid="100" last="true"][/lgc_column]

[lgc_column grid="50" tablet_grid="50" mobile_grid="100" last="false"][/lgc_column][lgc_column grid="50" tablet_grid="50" mobile_grid="100" last="true"][/lgc_column]

Bike Trip Day 2: Pacific Coast to Lake Atitlán

The next day it was back inland, with more offroad through sugar plantations, to Lago de Atitlán. The lake is situated in the Guatemalan Highlands of the Sierra Madre and the Lonely Planet Guide calls it "the closest thing to Eden on earth". The change in temperature, from the warm and humid coastline to the crisp cool volcanic mountains surrounding the lake, was quite drastic. We literally ascended into the clouds as we wound our way up and around the steep mountain passes. We were thankful for our windbreakers which up till this point we had been using as bug armour, protection against the multitude of insects ending their brief lives as gooey splats all over our chests, arms, helmets and (my least favourite) faces.

Our first glimpse of the lake was breathtaking. The Lonely Planet description is not far off. It really is something to behold and again, as with so many of the natural wonders we witness on our travels, it cannot be accurately captured in a photograph.

That afternoon we arrived in the lakeside town of Panajachel, in Sololá. Here we stored the motorbike with locals, at a pink hotel, and took a 45min water taxi ride across the lake to one of the little villages on it's North Western shore. San Marcos is known to be the quietest of the tiny settlements on the lake's edge. It is home to mostly holistic healing and yoga retreats with a diverse expat community living alongside the local traditional Mayas.

We enjoy the quiet but this place was almost lifeless when we were there. To be fair, it was off season but the people (specifically the expats) weren't exactly friendly and to be honest, we felt a bit out of place. We stayed at one of the lakeside yoga retreats, in a small dingy room, no running water and a broken toilet... all for a ridiculous price tag. It seems vegan hippie yogis have quite a bit of money to spend on their travels, especially if this was the off season discounted rate.

For dinner we had some of the establishment's healthy but tasteless veggie vegan soup, and were encouraged to retire early by a rather sad one-man karaoke show. Due to the non-existent running water situation we were unable to shower so we rolled our weary, smelly, sweaty bike and bug beaten bodies directly into bed. Unfortunately, this town is not a destination we would recommend...

 

our first full view of Lake Atitlan

ready to get back on the road with our humble black bag wrapped backpack strapped to the bike's booty

selfie accidentaly taken with a weird fuzzy "bold and the beautiful soapie" style setting. never to be repeated.

practicing my signature dance moves, to get the blood flowing back to my butt cheeks

view from inside some of the mountain caves on the way up

clouds hiding the volcano peaks 

water taxi across the lake

view of the yoga studio you had to pay extra for to use, at the yoga "retreat"

at least they found some water for the flowers

the best part about the place: a stray dog that insisted on befriending anyone she could find

the only thing that worked in the communal bathroom

adios San Marcos!

Bike Trip Day 1: Antigua to El Paredon

Apart from circumnavigating in our own sail boat we are also keen land travellers and we have a kind of overland bucket list to use all the kinds of transport available. The one we have always had high on the list is doing a bike trip and the right opportunity presented itself in Antigua.

While exploring the town on foot, we came across MotoTours, a motorbike rental shop. After a chat with the owner, and discussing our budget options over a good cup of coffee and a pastry, we decided to take the opportunity and do an unguided (less expensive and more adventurous/exciting for us) trip to the Pacific coast, Lake Atitlán and then back to Antigua.

We packed very light (one small backpack for the two of us), some water, a few snacks, our minimal camera gear, our sailing windbreakers and a questionable hand drawn map from José, the owner of MotoTours. The first day was half off road/forest/rivers/rural village areas and the other half highway. Neither of us had ridden in a very long time, and for such an extended period, so we had to get used to having bruised bums and inner thighs all over again.

Apart from our battered backsides it was a brilliant day. We started off in the town square, in the middle of historical Antigua, and drove South via Siquinqlá to El Paredon on the Pacific Coast. We spent the night at Driftwood Surf Camp. As soon as we arrived we immediately changed from our hot sticky dusty riding clothes into our swim gear and made a beeline for the swimming pool and bar! Over a well-deserved ice cold beer we reunited with our friend Matthieu, whom we had met a few weeks earlier on the Rio while he was sailing with Nike of White Spot Pirates.

Rufus went for a surf and then played some beach volleyball with our fellow surf campers as the sun set over the sea.The rest of the evening was spent on the deck, the roof of the surf house, enjoying dinner and drinks with new friends, chatting and laughing together as a tropical thunderstorm threatened to wash us all away. Good memories.

our first bike trip together, since before we got married 8 years ago!

about 2 hours into the trip, before the "numb bum" set in...

no more seats available? no problem, just jump on the back!

sharing the trail with hundreds of butterflies

happy dance

we cleared 7 (small) rivers in total on day 1

back in "civilization", after most of the off-road section - so.much.dust.and.bug.guts.on.my.face...

pacific coast beach

waves on offer at the surf camp

sunset volley ball challenge with our fellow surf campers

morning moves with the local stray pup and his bright orange crab companion (can you see him?)

pool with the bar hiding behind the bush on the left

Rufus recording the route and trip's details before we set off on the second day of the trip

hand drawn (seriously off scale) map from the bike rental owner

surf camp cat

my favourite spot: boat swing/hammock

neighbouring plot of land for sale - you too can share in this surfing paradise!

Tourbiking through Guatemala

It's been a while, I know! But we have something special for you... This, dear friends, is our first real "edited" video!!

This was Rufus' baby and, for his first time editing like this, on a new (very basic) program, I think it's pretty rad (I've watched it about 20 times and laughed my ass of at our super glamorous selves). 

We rented a bike and took a 3 day trip through part of Guatemala; from Antigua to the Pacific coast, inland to Lake Atitlan and back to Antigua. We rode through rivers, along black sandy beaches, on winding highways in the rain, through forests and plantations, froze our backsides off at the top of volcanos and eventually back down to the historic cobblestone streets of Antigua.

I will do a post on Antigua in the next few days, with photos and details of the rest of our trip and the time we spent in Antigua itself.

Enjoy the clip and let us know what you think!